A BRAINY idea thought up by Oxford University dons could be commercialised to help people with sleep disorders, writes Maggie Hartford.

A team led by Professor Lionel Tarassenko at the department of engineering originally developed the "neural network" technology to analyse what happens to brain waves during sleep. Their six-year research project has already won several scientific awards.

Neural networks allow computers to learn from experience, rather than following instructions.

Now the scientists are setting up a spin-out company, Oxford BioSignals, to create instruments to diagnose sleep disorders and to improve electrocardiograms and monitoring of patients' oxygen levels.

Prof Tarassenko said: "In the last eight years my research group has pioneered neural network techniques for domestic appliances such as the Sharp LogiCook microwave oven and jet engine monitoring, with Rolls Royce.

"We have also shown how neural networks can provide new diagnostic information for patient monitoring and Oxford BioSignals is the ideal vehicle for bringing this to market."

The company aims to improve patient care and provide doctors with new cost-effective healthcare tools. Its Sleep Analysis product, already used in sleep clinics, could help improve care for the one in ten people believed to suffer from sleep disorders.

Oxford BioSignals is also developing a "software monitor" intended to identify critical signs on medical instruments monitoring seriously-ill patients. It is already being tested in a "leading UK hospital".